The State of Israel is a favored ally of the United States and a sister member of the United Nations. On Oct. 3, 1991, Israel ratified the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child. Article 37 of the Convention, in sections a, b, c, and d, details these rights, which include freedom from torture and cruel and inhumane treatment, and the right to legal advice.

That Israel has not lived up to this in its treatment of Palestinian children has been, and continues to be, detailed by organizations such as: Christian Peacemaker Teams, Human Rights Watch, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, and the United States State Department.

As H. R. 4391 states: "In 2013, the annual Country Report on Human Rights Practices for Israel and the Occupied Territories published by the Department of State noted that Israeli security services continued to abuse, and some cases torture, minors, frequently arrested on suspicion of stone throwing, to coerce confessions. The torture tactics used included threats, intimidation, long-term handcuffing, beatings, and solitary confinement."

Since American policy ties the United States so closely in alliance with Israel, we, the members of Delaware Churches for Middle East Peace believe, that our government should make a firm representation to Israel that it will not support its treatment of Palestinian children living under its military occupation of the West Bank.

Therefore, we support the resolution submitted to the United States House of Representatives by Representative Betty McCollum of Minnesota. The bill requires the Secretary of State to certify that United States funds do not support military detention, interrogation, abuse, or ill-treatment of Palestinian children.

In its statement of purpose, the bill states, “It is the policy of the United States not to support the military detention of Palestinian children, a practice that results in widespread and systematic human rights violations against Palestinian child detainees and is inconsistent with the values of the United States.”

The bill does not call for withholding United States’ funding for Israel; it does require the Secretary of State to certify that such funds are not used to support military detention of Palestinian children and to provide details if they are so used.

This legislation is presently endorsed by 13 organizations including: The American Friends Service Committee, Amnesty International USA, Defense for Children International - Palestine, Global Ministries of the Christian Church and United Church of Christ, Jewish Voice for Peace, Presbyterian Church (USA), and the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society.

Delaware Churches for Middle East Peace calls upon the Delaware Congressional Delegation to endorse and support Representative McCollum’s initiative.

Please go to the Churches for Middle East Peace website, www.cmep.org, for more information.

The Very Reverend William B. Lane, Chair of Delaware Churches for Middle East Peace. CMEP is a coalition of 27 national Church denominations and organizations working to encourage U.S. policies that promote just and comprehensive resolutions to conflicts in the Middle East.